We foster a largely unstructured, self-directed, and project-based environment, with an emphasis on self-motivation. Participants attend 12-week batches in New York, where they write open source software and grow together as programmers in a friendly, intellectual, and energizing environment.
It's like a writers retreat for hackers, with optional activities, including reading groups, mini workshops and seminars, weekly dinners and talks, group presentations, and many more.

The Recurse Center retreat is free for everyone, and we offer need-...

Anonymous

"You know this is NOT a bootcamp, right?"

The Recurse Center is great for you if:
- you already know how to program
- have an idea for 6-12 weeks of self-directed learning
- don't expect mentors, classes, a curriculum or a certificate
- like and are interested in programming

This is not a networking machine that's there for boosting your resume. It's not a place to build your startup. It's not a free bootcamp for beginners.

If you can't code, if you don't like to code and if you don't want to get better at writing code, it's not for you.

"Fully recommended"

Nick

"A life changing educational experience that spawned many lasting friendships"

Hackerschool is truly incredible. They've managed to cultivate an environment where a beginner coder who's just delving into web design can be a peer, a mentor, and a friend to a data scientist with multiple PHDs and published software. The beauty of it is that it's all community driven. There is no curriculum, there are no tests, you just show up everyday and talk to people. The result is that you cant go a single day in the batch without having fascinating conversations and learning new things from the people around you. Since everyone is in it together, there's just enough social pressure to keep people productive. You check-in every morning at 10:30am, give your group a rundown on what you accomplished the day before and your plans for the day ahead, then you team up with peo...

Anonymous

"One-sided to the max"

If your idea of learning to code or improving your coding is to continue your liberal arts studies, during which your focus was your involvement with the Campus Progressives and Feminist Studies majors; and if you agree that anything but front-end and Functional Programming is lame, old-fashioned, and uninteresting, HS is for you! It also helps if you mainly join to network, talk at the top of your lungs (during presentations and just anytime), and agree that saying "I love programming!" is reactionary and "gendered." You will be exposed to some alpha-geek cool stuff, and meet the occasional interesting co-student and invited resident, but the program is a one-trick pony for the above which will keep talking about "inclusiveness" while firmly ensuring an exemplary TheyScout party line y...